Bracelet fastening device



Feb. 7,' 1939. A. MASK. 2,146,125

' BRACELET FASTENING DEVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1956 PM10/Wto@ ANDREW /WAJK/Patented Feb. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE BRACELET FASTENING DEVICE AndrewMaski,

Application August 5,

l Claim.

This invention relate-s to a bracelet fastening device and has for itsprincipal aim the provision of an` expansible and detachable fasteningmeans arranged to removably secure the ends of #5 a bracelet together insuch a manner that the bracelet may be positioned upon an arm withgreatest facility and may be expanded beyond its normal size duringapplication and removal of the bracelet.

Itis a further object of my invention to pro- .vide a, simplyconstructed, neat appearing, exvpansible fastening .device for aflexible bracelet which is so constructed that the parts of the devicemay be securely fastened together without of .themselves tending tobecome disengaged, and the parts may be quickly and easily uncoupled bythe wearer. This invention further contemplates the provision ofbracelet connectors adapted to receive and removably clamp against theends of a cord or other flexible member forming part of the bracelet.

It is a` still further object of this invention to provide a braceletfastening device which will automatically open to an expanded positionfor detachable engagement with one of the bracelet ends upon thedepression of a member in the fastening device.

With these and other objects in view, my invention resides in the uniqueconstruction and combination of members hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and referred to in the claimsappended hereto; vit being understood, of course, that various' changesin the general form, proportion, and size, as well as other minordetails of construction lying within the scope of the claims, may beresorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention orsacrificing any of its advantages thereof.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating one embodiment which myinvention may take and wherein like parts are indicated by likenumerals:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my fastening device in closed position; Y

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my device taken partly in longitudinalsection and showing the parts in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the device in detached openposition;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through one of ,55 the cord connectorswith the cord clamping mem- Hartford, Conn.

1936, Serial N0. 94,324

(C1. 2li- 239) ber in position to be inserted Within the connector tolock the cord therein; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the cord clamping member.

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided a braceletfastening device including a clasp I0 removably and pivotallyinterconnectinga pair of similar cord engaging connectors II and II Theclasp is provided with a hollow casing IU' preferably bent to anelongated tubular shape from a suitable sheet metal strip and slidablysupporting a movable hook member I0. In the present instance, the casingis rectangular in cross section and has opposed top and bottom walls I3and I4 and opposed side walls I5. As shown in Fig. 4, the strip may bebent so that its side edges are in abutting engagement to form thebottom wall I4, and the top wall may be provided with an elongatedbumped portion I3'. The right-hand end of bottom wall I4, as viewed inFigs. 2 and 3, has adjacent extended portions bent transversely of thecasing towards top wall I3 to cooperatively provide an end Wall I6. Atongue Il, longitudinally projecting from the top Wall above end WallIB, is bent back towards the end Wall to provide a substantially closedeye pivotally engaged within the closed eye I8 of connector II.

The movable hook member IIJ is provided with an elongated body portionI9 substantially rectangular in cross section and longitudinallyslidable within casing I0. It is not desired to limit my invention torectangular shaped, relatively slidable members I9 and Ill since thecasing and cooperating body portion I9 may be of any suitable crosssectional contour Which permits a relative longitudinally slidablemovement and prevents relative rotation, It will also be appreciatedthat members I0 and I9 need not be generally longitudinally straight asillustrated, but may be of correspondingly longitudinal arcuate contoursto conform with the curvature of a wrist and still have the requiredlongitudinally slidable relation. The outer end of body portion I9 isreduced in thickness and rolled back towards itself to provide an openend hook 20 which may be removably and pivotally received within theclosed eye I8 of connector II.

The body portion I9 which is slidably mounted within the casing also hasan upwardly projecting rectangular boss I9' on its rearward end slidablyreceived in a longitudinal groove I3 formed in the under side of wall I3by hump I3. This boss provides additional thickness to part of the bodyportion I9 so that a locking device may be received therein and yet theclasp I0 may be maintained relatively thin and of neat appearance. BossI9 is adapted to abut against a downwardly depending lug 22 formed by atongue portion bent over at the left-hand end of top wall I3', as viewedin Figs. 2 and 3, and serving to limit the extent of outward movement ofthe hook member I0, thus preventing it from being completely Withdrawnfrom the casing.

A coiled spring 23 slidably received within casing I0 is compressivelyengaged between the inner end of the hook member and end wall I6,tending to resiliently urge the hook member to its outermost or openposition, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be appreciated that when the claspis in this open position, the bracelet is lengthened, thus relieving anyprevious tension it may have had about a wearers wrist and facilitatingattachment and detachment of connector II.

To close the clasp, the hook member is slidably moved into the casinguntil the open end of hook 20 substantially abuts against depending lug22, forming a closed eye at the end of the casing, as shown in Fig. 2,and a lock device automatically secures the parts in closed positionwith the clasp shortened, thus reducingthe bracelet to desired size.Body portion I9 has a counterbored hole 24 extending therethroughwithithe reduced portion of the hole in boss I9. The opposite ends ofthis hole are located adjacent walls I3 and Ill, and a plunger 25slidably mounted in the hole is urged by a coiled spring 26 within thecounterbored portion into frictional engagement with top wall I3. A bore2:5 through top wall I3 is arranged to slidably receive plunger 25 whenthe clasp is in closed position.

In view of the fact that spring 26 is compressed between the bottom or"plunger 25 and the bottom wall of the casing, it will be appreciatedthat it is simply necessary to push the clasp to a closed positionwhereupon plunger 25 will be resilientlyV urged into locking engagement.The bottom of plunger 25 terminates in an annular flange 25" slidablyreceived in the counterbored portion of hole 24 and limiting the extentof upward movement of the plunger so that it may-not be completelyforced out of the casing, and the length of the plunger is preferably sochosen that the topk thereof will not extend above the general top sur'-face of humped portion I3 and permit the plunger to become easilydepressed and disengaged from locke-d position in the casing. It willbeevident that when the plunger is depressed, spring 23 will immediatelyact to shift the clasp to open position. To facilitate disengaging theplunger from locked position, I preferably provide a somewhat V-shapedgroove 2'! extending transversely across the top casing wall and acrossbore 25' so that a fingernail may be easily pressed against plunger 25to unlock the clasp.

Cord engagingV connectors II and Il', which may be of duplicateconstruction, are of a tubu- Y lar contour in general conformity `withthe cross section of the clasp. Each connector terminates at one end ina downwardly and rearwardly extending wall 30 Vhaving the hole I8therein suitably positioned for respective engagement with hooks II and20. A somewhat resilient clip member 3|, having respective top andbottom walls 32 and 33 interconnected by an end wall 34, is adapted toslidably and resilien-tly interlock within 'the open end of eachconnector. The top and bottom walls 32 and 33 tend to'spring away fromeach other into resilient engagement with the inner wallsof eachconnector, and Ithe forward end of bottom wall 33 terminates in anupwardly projecting shoulder 33' adapted to clamp into tight engagementVwith the. flexible cord or strap members C, asl shown in Fig. 2, whenclip SI is received in a connector. Top wall 32 is preferablyconsiderably narrower and cenerally disposed above wall 32 so that whentwo cord ends are engaged within each clip,'as illus-V trated in thepresent instance, the cords will be deformed into clamping positionand'tightly held within connector II. jects downwardly from the forwardend of meme ber 3| and is adapted to snap into Vengagement with a hole35 provided in the bottom connector wall, as shown. When thecords orstrap members C become worn out', it will be appreciated that a smallinstrument, such as the point of a lead pencil, may be inserted throughhole 35 to depress lug 35 and disengage it therefrom, whereupon cords Cand member 3| may be withdrawn from connectors II. f v

l claim as my invention:

A depending lugy 35 pro- A bracelet fastening device having a'preformedY sheet metal casing provided with an Vopen end and a closed end, saidclosed end ofthe casing having a rearwardly extending looped portionforming a closed eye, a member longitudinally slidable Within the casingand 'terminating at its outer extended end in an openhook, a boss on therearward portion of said member and within the casing, a depending lugon the forward end of the casing engageable with said boss and 'limitingthe extent of movement of said member out of the casing, theslidable'member being movable into the casing sufficiently 13o-close thehook with the end of the casing, a spring pressed plunger slidablymounted for transverse movement Within said member and through 'saidboss, saild casing having an aperture adapted to receive the plungerwhen the hookis iny closed position, andV a coiled spring compressivelyreceived between the casing and the end of said member to resilientlyurge the hook to an open position when thej plunger'isV disengaged fromthe casing aperture.

ANDREW MASKI.

